The victim, Scott Ranstrom, was sitting at a Denny’s restaurant in Happy Valley when a man entered and sat in a booth adjacent to him. The man, Deshaun James Swanger, then dumped what is believed to be gasoline on Ranstrom. He then tossed a burning object at him, which caused Ranstrom to go up in flames.
Swanger, 24, ran off but he was caught the following evening on Thursday. Deputies found him at a home in Clackamas County. Deputies said Swanger came outside of the home and he was placed under arrest without incident.
We got him! #WorkingTogether pic.twitter.com/sRpwkDEOhQ
— Clackamas Sheriff (@ClackCoSheriff) April 21, 2017
@ClackCoSheriff Great job CCSO!
— Buck Perkins (@buckperx) April 22, 2017
@ClackCoSheriff Thank goodness! You found the evil scum that burned that poor man It's sickening to even think how cruel he was to another human.
— Debbie G. (@LasVegas1969) April 21, 2017
According to authorities, he was identified as the suspect after several people recognized him from surveillance photos that were made public.
Swanger does have a criminal history. He has been convicted of burglary, delivery of marijuana and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He is now facing a charge of attempted murder and he is currently being held at Clackamas County Jail.
Authorities confirmed that another gasoline attack occurred earlier last week. That incident happened near Clackamas Town Center. A witness said he saw a person light a book of matches on fire and the person who had the gas thrown at them started running around before the fire on his arm went out.
The person responsible for that incident ran off and has yet to be identified. However, police do plan on doing another interview with the victim to see if he can identify a suspect.
